North Korea’s Ruling Family Through the Years

Published August 9, 2017•Updated on August 10, 2017 at 6:33 pm

Kim Jong Un's family has ruled North Korea for three generations, since 1948.

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Getty Images
North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Munsu Hill, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Koreans gathered to offer flowers and pay their respects to their late leaders as part of celebrations for the 62nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War.

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KCNA/AP Photo
In this undated photo from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, distributed by Korea News Service, Kim Jong Il (left) takes part of a souvenir picture during his childhood with his parent, Kim Jong Suk, right, and leader Kim Il Sung.

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KCNA/AP Photo
In this July 2, 1978, photo from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, distributed by Korea News Service, leader Kim Il Sung is to be part of a souvenir picture after enjoying the music and dance synthesis act by the Pyongyang student art troupe, performed in Japan.

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Getty Images
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, left, poses with his first-born son Kim Jong Nam, right, in this 1981 family photo in Pyongyang, North Korea.

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AP Photo
Schoolchildren in Pyongyang’s Central District cry over the death of Kim Il Sung in July 1994.

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Getty
A man points at a computer screen in Seoul on February 16, 2011, showing a man believed to be North Korean leader's second son, Kim Jong Chol, as he enters a concert for British guitarist Eric Clapton in Singapore two days earlier.

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AP Photo
A portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is carried past mourners during his funeral procession through the streets of Pyongyang, North Korea in 2011.

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AFP/Getty Images
North Korean mourners arrive at a Korean restaurant to watch a telecast of the funeral of the late leader Kim Jong Il, at the North Korean and Chinese border town of Dandong on December 28, 2011. North Korea December 28 ended a three-hour funeral for its late leader Kim Jong Il, state TV showed, as the cortege accompanying his coffin returned to the palace from where it had set out.

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AP Photo
In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, a hazardous materials crew conducts an investigation at the main hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 after the death of Kim Jong Nam, estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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AP Photo
In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea.